Secret Shipper
by Taurus Pixie
Summary: Marinette finds herself drawn into the terrifying shipping world of LadyNoir when she stumbles across a particular type of fictional story she really wasn't supposed to, written by none other than her best friend, Alya Césaire. One-shot.


**So this is a silly little one-shot idea that just randomly popped into my head one day. I thought it would be funny to write and see how it turned out.  
**

* * *

 **~ Secret Shipper ~**

* * *

Even standing outside the front door to Alya's family's apartment, Marinette could hear the screams of the young twins inside. Her hand was half raised, ready to knock on the door, though she was beginning to wonder if she should just wait until Alya had managed to get the twins settled. Alya would no doubt be stressed and unable to hear and answer the door. Marinette's overnight bag slipped down her shoulder slightly as she relaxed her arm, feeling awkward.

"Just go ahead and knock, Marinette," Tikki urged as she peaked her head out from the tiny handbag Marinette often carried with her.

"Right, and you're totally not in rush because of all the popcorn and candy we'll be having." Marinette smirked knowingly down at her little red kwami who merely giggled in reply, not even trying to deny it. But Marinette knew that Tikki was right. She felt awkward standing creepily outside the front door. At least if she knocked and got invited in, at least she might be able to help get the twins settled. Not that she was very good with little kids, and Alya knew that. She couldn't even get Manon to settle when she babysat, so Marinette had no hope of settling hyperactive twins.

Holding her breath, Marinette knocked on the door as loudly as possible, hoping that Alya would hear her over all the screaming. The twins carried on yelling, however, Marinette could just about hear a set of light footsteps coming towards the front door. Keys jiggled around before the lock clicked and the door finally swung open to reveal a very dishevelled and stressed Alya. The twins were clinging to her legs and began to happily scream even louder when they realised they had a guest.

"H-hey, girl, come in," Alya greeted, out of breath.

Marinette smiled and stepped inside before glancing worriedly at the twins who were still clinging onto their older sister, making her movements very difficult. Alya slammed the front door behind her before trying to extract her little sisters off her to no avail.

"Where are your parents?" Marinette asked.

"They've gone out for a fancy meal and won't be back until late, so guess who's stuck babysitting these little monsters again." Alya glared playfully down at her sisters, though Marinette could tell that her best friend was getting more and more agitated. Alya's eye twitched and it looked like she was about to snap at any second.

"They just won't settle down for bed," Alya sighed in annoyance, "I told my mom and dad not to go out tonight because you were coming over. They always get excited when I'm having a sleepover and think they can stay up late as well which they _can't._ " Alya emphasised that last part as she glared down at her sisters again. The twins merely giggled in response before letting go of Alya and beginning to run around the living room again, bouncing off the furniture.

Alya groaned before storming off after them.

"Need some help?" Marinette offered, unable to hide her slight chuckle as she watched Alya chase them around the room, demanding for them to behave and go to bed.

Alya managed to grab hold of one of the young girls who whined in response before Alya giggled at Marinette's offer. "Thank you, but I don't think that's such a good idea. You and I both know you're not exactly good at controlling children."

Marinette thought back to all of the disasters involving Manon and shuddered. From the time the little girl had gotten melted chocolate all over a dress that Marinette had designed, to the time she hiked up the phone bill by continuously making calls to a TV show, and of course there was the time where Marinette had accidentally aided Hawkmoth in akumatizing the girl by giving into her once again and letting her have one of her dolls that she had made. Alya was right. Marinette really had to learn to say no and not be drawn in by how cute they were acting.

"Why don't you go sit in my room while I sort these little monsters out?" Alya suggested, finally managing to grab hold of the other one. Both of them thrashed about and tried to yank their arms out of Alya's grasp, but her grip was too tight. She began dragging the twins towards their bedrooms and both of them cried out in frustration.

"If you're sure?" Marinette asked, feeling guilty over not being able to help.

"Positive," Alya grunted as she continued to try and drag them, "I'll hopefully be with you in just a minute."

Marinette smirked, knowing that the twins were likely not going to give up anytime soon. But Marinette relented and began heading towards Alya's room. As much as she loved Alya's room for the beautiful view she had of the city, she hated all of the Ladybug posters she had on her wall. Marinette wasn't particular keen on having her own eyes watching her all night. She found merchandise based off herself incredibly cringy, but if it kept people happy, then who was she to deny people? Chat Noir of course enjoyed the all of the attention and loved seeing posters of himself. Marinette shook her head – silly kitty.

Sighing to herself as the twins continued to scream, Marinette perched herself on Alya's bed, trying her best to ignore all of the posters. Alya had left her laptop on her bed, and the screen was glowing up the darkening room as the sun began to set over the city. That's when Marinette noticed that Alya was on some sort of the page that she didn't recognise. The word 'Ladybug' immediately caught her attention and Marinette twisted the laptop around so that she could get a better look. She felt a bit bad for snooping on Alya's laptop, however, that guilt was soon forgotten about as Ladybug screeched at what she was seeing in front of her.

It looked like…like… _her_ …and… _CHAT?!_

What was she doing perched on his lap like that?! It looked like some sort of digital artwork someone had created of her and Chat Noir enjoying what looked like…a fairly intimate moment. Chat Noir's arms were wrapped around her waist as she sat on his lap facing him, their faces were inches apart as they smiled gently at each other. Their eyes were hooded and no one could mistake the look of intense love on their faces as they gazed deeply into each other's eyes. They were both sat on what looked like a roof top, with the city of Paris blurry in the background as the moon shone down above them. It all looked very romantic.

Marinette's eye twitched and her face grew incredibly warm as she could feel it turning bright red. What was this? Who had made this fan art?! It was so…so…weird! She didn't see Chat Noir that way! He was her friend, her partner and nothing more! Why did this exist?! What was going on?! She knew that people sometimes questioned her if her and Chat Noir were a thing, but she didn't know people actually believed it and drew them together!

Trying to stop herself from freaking out, Marinette took a deep breath. Maybe there was a perfectly reasonable explanation to this. Maybe Alya was just doing some research for her blog and just happened to stumble across a small community of people who thought that she and Chat Noir were an item. Surely there was no way that Alya had purposefully gone looking for this stuff and believed it to be true?

Upon closer inspection, Marinette soon realised that it appeared to be some sort of cover art. Her eyes darted to the top corner of the page and it seemed to be some strange website that Marinette had never heard of before. And it looked like Alya had an account as it was clear that she was signed in. Before she could begin freaking out again, Marinette looked back towards the image and noticed that it did indeed seem to be some sort of cover; it looked like the cover for a story. Next to the cover were the words, _Lovers Parisdise_ , with a small description underneath that read: _after a long and hard battle against an akuma, Ladybug and Chat Noir sit alone together on top of the Eiffel Tower, discussing their love for each other. LadyNoir._

Marinette's eye twitched. Was this…was this… _fanfiction?!_

Fanfiction that Alya had written?!

About her and… _Chat Noir?!_

Marinette almost couldn't believe her eyes. Was this a joke? Surely there was no way that Alya actually believed that Ladybug and Chat Noir were together, right? Marinette was so sure that she had never given any inclination that she and Chat were an item. So why were people so obsessed over the idea of them being together? It was so crazy and unbelievable, but yet Marinette still found herself feeling incredibly morbidly curious. Everything within her was telling her to click on the link and have a look. However, a small part of her did wonder if this was Alya's private hobby. It was like Marinette all of a sudden had a devil and an angel on her shoulder. She really shouldn't go snooping around on Alya's laptop. But, on the other hand, Alya had left it open for the whole world to see, and seen as Marinette was Ladybug (not that Alya knew that), that did technically make her entitled to look.

Straining her ears, Marinette could just about hear Alya's voice drifting between the walls of the apartment. It sounded like she was preoccupied with reading her younger sisters a bedtime story, so Marinette knew that she probably had time for one quick look. She had to know. The curiosity was eating away at her.

Holding her breath, she clicked on the link and a page full of text instantly filled the screen. Marinette began reading, and it wasn't long before her jaw hit the ground at what she was seeing and the images that were being forced through her mind by Alya's story.

" _Is everything, alright, Kitty?" Ladybug asked cautiously as she approached her partner, who was leaning against the railing of the top most balcony of the Eiffel Tower, staring out into the city with his back towards her._

 _A cool night breeze blew past them both, and Chat Noir finally turned around to stare at Ladybug sadly before plastering a fake smile on his face. This did nothing to reassure Ladybug as she instantly saw right through him, knowing the young hero all too well. She stepped forward slowly, terrified that the love of her life –_

Marinette paused, unable to stop herself from cringing. All of a sudden it felt like she had been sucking on a lemon. She had almost forgotten for a second that these weren't really her thoughts. It made her panic to see those words on the screen. Seeing the version of her in this story referring to Chat Noir as the love of her life was too weird and she almost stopped reading there and then. Chat Noir was her friend and partner. She loved him, sure, but she wasn't _in_ love with him. Her heart totally and completely belonged to Adrien Agreste. He was the love of her life, Marinette thought to herself with a dreamy sigh. To see this fictional version of herself referring to Chat Noir as such a thing almost made Marinette feel like she was cheating on Adrien. Marinette almost reached over to get Tikki's attention from her purse, but then she remembered that Alya could walk in at any moment and thought better of it.

So Marinette continued to go at it alone.

 _She stepped forward slowly, terrified that the love of her life would suddenly flee. She couldn't bear the thought of him running away from her. She couldn't bear the thought of him hiding his feelings. She couldn't bear the thought of him suffering in silence. If only she could take his pain away. If only she could take his place. She would do anything for him. He was so perfect. As perfect as an ancient Greek god. To see any traces of sorrow on his face ruined that beautiful perfection, and Ladybug wanted to do everything within her power to fix it, to make him feel better, to see his perfect smile again._

Marinette rolled her eyes. Too bad it wasn't Chat Noir reading this. He would almost certainly enjoy all of the endless praise that Alya was giving him in this story, she thought to herself with a smirk. As if that cat's ego needed inflating any more. He would probably burst if he read this description. Marinette quickly shook her head at her own joke before she continued reading.

" _Nothing, my lady," Chat Noir spoke gently, "I was just enjoying the purr-fect view," he added, staring at her intently._

Okay, yeah, it definitely seemed like Alya had nailed Chat Noir's personality at least.

 _Ladybug chuckled at Chat Noir's amazing puns –_

Marinette groaned to herself. Though it seemed Alya had nailed Chat Noir's personality, she seemed to have had a hard time being accurate with Ladybug. Marinette did not think Chat Noir's puns were amazing. She thought they were funny sometimes. Awful, but occasionally funny. That would have been a more realistic reaction for Ladybug to have had in that situation. Marinette froze at the direction her thoughts had taken. What was she doing? It was like she was getting really into this or something. Shaking her head, Marinette read on.

 _Ladybug chuckled at Chat Noir's amazing puns. Despite feeling down, his sense of humour never seemed to be effected. However, Ladybug's chuckle quickly died down and her expression was once again replaced with one of concern._

" _Seriously Chat Noir, what's wrong?" Ladybug asked. "You can't lie to me."_

 _Chat Noir sighed before staring out into the city again. Ladybug slowly walked over to stand next to him and gaze over the railings with him, watching as the lights of the city twinkled and as the lights from distant cars blurred by. Ladybug could stay up there with Chat Noir forever. This was their own little, private oasis away from the stresses of hero duty. Here, she could just be herself with Chat Noir and not have to worry about putting on a brave face for the people of Paris. She didn't have to worry about hiding her love for him. Up here, it was like they were the only two souls in the universe._

Marinette cringed.

" _I was just thinking about the battle with the akuma earlier." Chat Noir took a deep, shaky breath. "Thinking about how the akumatized victim nearly got you. How I nearly lost you."_

 _Ladybug gasped. "But I'm fine, Chat," she tried to reassure him. "Thanks to you, that akuma couldn't get hold of me."_

" _But what if I had been too slow?!" Chat Noir suddenly shrieked. "What if I hadn't noticed?! What if I had been too late?!"_

 _Ladybug smiled gently and cupped his cheek with her hand. "But you weren't."_

" _But I could have been!" Chat Noir yelled again before he bowed his head and whispered, "I can't lose you my lady."_

 _Ladybug's smile faltered as she took in just how crestfallen her partner looked. She had also never seen him look so scared or worried before. And it was because of her. He was worried about her. That thought touched Ladybug and warmed her heart. However, at the same time, she couldn't help but feel like Chat Noir was worrying too much. They were both superheroes; dangers and close calls were all part of the job description._

 _However, Ladybug soon shivered as she felt Chat Noir's long fingers running through the hair of one of her pigtails. He stared down at her intensely and Ladybug couldn't help but become lost in his deep, green cat-like eyes. His face glowed handsomely in the light of the tower, his expression melancholic as he continued to gaze deeply into her eyes. Ladybug's knees began to wobble and the intensity of his previous words had already left her feeling incredibly weak and breathless._

 _Chat Noir's pupils dilated as Ladybug could feel their faces being drawn closer and closer together, like powerful magnets. All she could think about was how much she wanted to feel his lips pressed tightly against hers. It became more than a want. It was a raw need._

 _They both titled their heads and after an agonisingly slow build-up, their lips finally collided, hungrily and passionately. Ladybug gripped onto his suit, pressing herself against him, never wanting them to drift apart ever again. Chat seemed just as desperate to stay connected to her as his hands gripped her waist before his tongue lightly traced Ladybug's lips –_

Marinette squealed and slammed the laptop shut before pushing it away from her as if it was contaminated. Her stomach tied itself into a large knot and her heart beat wildly in her chest as she struggled to process what she had just read. She held her hands in the air, too terrified to move. However, that's when her eyes finally glanced up to see a very startled, embarrassed and angry looking Alya standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing?!" Alya shrieked as she rushed towards her laptop, her cheeks impossibly red.

"You write Ladybug and Chat Noir fanfiction?!" Marinette shrieked back, jumping off the bed as she clutched her hair and bounced on the spot in horror and disbelief.

"You went on my laptop without asking?!" Alya yelled as she quickly fiddled with something before slamming her laptop closed again and looking up to glare angrily at Marinette.

"Coming back at you with you write _fanfiction?!_ "

Alya sighed, looking away awkwardly. "No one was supposed to see it. I thought I had deleted the tab before you got here, but I guess I didn't what with the twins distracting me and everything." Alya blew a stray strand of auburn hair out of her face in annoyance.

" _You write Ladybug and Chat Noir fanfiction?!_ " Marinette kept squealing and bouncing on the spot, not knowing what to think or what to do with herself. This all felt so weird. So weird and wrong. Oh if only Alya knew that she was writing this sort of stuff about her best friend. Her…and Chat Noir…no…just no! Chat Noir was her friend! To see herself in that sort of situation felt so wrong to her. To see herself in that situation with anyone else besides Adrien felt so wrong. Oh no…how many people had read that story? How many people out there thought that Ladybug and Chat Noir were a couple?! Worst of all, had Ladybug done something to encourage this?!

"Yes!" Alya yelled. "Alright, I admit it, calm down. I write LadyNoir fanfiction."

" _LadyNoir?_ " Marinette squealed, sinking to her knees.

"It's the name of the ship for Ladybug and Chat Noir," Alya explained, "seriously girl, why are you freaking out so much about this? People write fanfiction, big deal. Granted, I didn't want you to see it, I just never thought my own friend would go snooping through my laptop." Alya shot her an accusatory glare.

"People ship Ladybug and Chat Noir?" Ladybug squeaked before shaking her head to try and snap herself out of it. "And I didn't go snooping through your laptop! You left that page wide open for the whole world to see!"

Alya's blush deepened before she lowly mumbled, "I'm just glad you didn't see some of the other stuff I'd written."

" _People ship Ladybug and Chat Noir?_ " Ladybug squealed again, unable to comprehend what she had just been told.

"Yes, Marinette, what's the big deal?" Alya sighed.

"The deal is, they aren't together!"

Alya raised an eyebrow. "And how would you know that?"

"I-I…ummm…" Marinette stuttered becoming more and more flustered, "because…it never seems like they are. I'm sure they're just really good friends!"

Alya laughed. "Oh come on, girl! The chemistry between the two of them is hard to ignore. It's obvious that they're madly in love with each other!"

Marinette's eye twitched.

"You obviously don't see the way they look at each other, the way they talk to each other. Even if they're not dating, they do at least have feelings for each other. Oh could you imagine what it would be like to fight crime side by side with the love of your life?" Alya sighed dreamily. "How romantic."

Marinette laughed nervously. "I wouldn't know, because I don't fight crime side by side with the love of my life."

"I'm thinking about maybe doing a post on the Ladyblog about all the evidence that points towards them being in love. Ooooh, do you think Ladybug would be down for an interview on that?!"

"I wouldn't get your hopes up," Marinette quickly and awkwardly tried to explain as best as she could without hurting Alya's feelings, "if…if Ladybug is in l-love," she gulped, "with C-Chat Noir, then don't you think she'd want to keep it a secret? I mean, what if Hawkmoth found out they were in love? He'd probably want to use that against them in some way."

Alya sighed in defeat. "Maybe you're right." However, she quickly perked up. "But it's not going to stop the LadyNoir shippers from hoping!"

"There's more of them?!" Marinette choked.

"There's thousands of us!" Alya excited proclaimed.

All Marinette could do was splutter incoherently. There was thousands of them? Thousands of people thought that her and Chat Noir were dating or that they belonged together?! No! No no no no! How was she ever going to be able to look at Chat Noir the same way again? Knowing that people out there thought that they were lovers would now only make Ladybug even more awkward and cautious with her actions around Chat Noir. This was all too weird.

However, Marinette's internal freak out was interrupted by Alya placing an arm over her shoulder.

"But seriously, could you maybe not tell anyone what you found today?" Alya asked sheepishly. "It's a small private hobby of mine that I don't exactly want getting out, especially in front of Chloé. If you can do that for me, maybe I can overlook the whole you snooping on my laptop thing." Alya winked.

"Your secret is safe with me," Marinette tried her best to smile reassuringly.

She still couldn't believe that her own best friend thought that she and Chat Noir were an item and that they were in love. Alya clearly felt very passionately about it, otherwise why would she write stories about such a thing? Marinette never realised just how much of a fangirl Alya could be over Ladybug. But there were millions of other people out there just like Alya. People who loved Ladybug and Chat Noir and who were huge fans of them. Alya had said so herself that thousands of people shipped her and Chat Noir together.

Internally cringing, Marinette began to wonder…just how much more fanfiction was out there of her and Chat Noir?

* * *

 **Fanfiction-ception. I hope that you enjoyed reading this and feel free to let me know what you think.**


End file.
